Mika Quotes

"I think that's the worst (situation) for a backup -- first game of the season, first NHL game for me. I wasn't ready at all. Just about every save I made, I dropped the rebound. It was lucky our defence played well."
-Mika on his 1st NHL game (October 6, 2000)

"It wasn't me who beat him. It was the Sabres."
-Mika on beating Chicago's Finnish coach (October 6, 2000)

"I need more games. I played two games, but it was almost two weeks ago. The most important thing is to play games and get better as a goalie. It's not a bad thing."
-Mika on the possibility of being assigned to Rochester soon (October 18, 2000)

"It was kind of funny for me -- should I stand up, should I put my mask on? -- I wasn't sure."
-Mika on his reaction when Hasek left the ice vs. Chicago (October 20, 2000)

"I was nervous and when I stepped on the ice it was like, 'Whoa'."
-Mika on his 1st NHL game (October 20, 2000)

"Of course it would be nice to be there watching and learning, but I want to play, that's the big thing. They want me to play and get better as a player."
-Mika (October 20, 2000)

"We won both games but I was little too nervous. I dropped the puck a couple times and I gave up some rebounds."
-Mika on his play in the NHL games (October 20, 2000)

"Every guy up who plays there can score. I know the things I have to work on. I'm still not the guy who gives the best in practice, it's still something I have to learn. That's why I'm here, so I can play there some day."
-Mika (October 20, 2000)

"I felt pretty good but they scored three goals."
-Mika on his 1st game back in Rochester (October 21, 2000)

"The goalie's thing is to make the save and right now it's hard to make a save."
-Mika (November 8, 2000)

"It might be because I was with Buffalo, it might take time to adjust, I don't know. It's Nov. 7 and I have only played six games."
-Mika (November 8, 2000)

"I think it's going to come, I'm not afraid about that. But when you don't play well, you can't enjoy what you're doing here."
-Mika (November 8, 2000)
(Poor Mika...I hope it comes soon for him)

"We played great today and they really didn't have a chance, it was an easy game for me."
-Mika (November 24, 2000)

"I made that bad play and after that everyone's heads went down."
-Mika on the game against Portland (January 12, 2001)

"I saw their guy went to change and just threw the puck to Mike. He made an unbelievable pass to Charron, and he made an unbelievable shot."
-Mika on his assist against Hamilton (January 13, 2001)

"I hoped nobody saw that. You do that and then you think about what's going on."
-Mika on stepping on a puck and falling during warmups (February 19, 2001)

"The shot was from an angle and when the game is 2-1, I should make that save."
-Mika on Toivo Suursoo's goal (February 19, 2001)

"There was nothing else to do but I heard ringing for quite a while after that. I don't want to get hit on the head if I don't have to."
-Mika on Hershey's Joel Prpic's wrist shot that hit him squarely on the forehead area of his mask (February 25, 2001)

"It was like a summer hockey spin-around. If he did it a million times a game, ihe wouldn't score again."
-Mika on Rob Shearer's goal (February 25, 2001)

"He made a good move on me but it was down a little low and the ice was in pretty bad shape and that played to my advantage."
-Mika on stopping Mike Harder's penalty shot, the 1st Mika has faced as a pro (March 2, 2001)

"It hit my glove and it hit the cross bar, that's why I didn't say anything before he (Rooney) made his decision. I tried to tell the referee there was still a wet mark on the cross bar but he wouldn't listen."
-Mika on the game tying goal that should not have counted for Syracuse (March 10, 2001)

"I was changing my oil (Wednesday night) and the guy from the (car) dealership told me he saw it and couldn't believe how funny it was. The players, friends of players, many people have come to me and told me. I didn't really think that it would be funny. It just came out. I don't know where it came from. Maybe I should be a funny guy every day. I didn't swear or anything, I tried to be nice and asked if he'd please come see the mark on the cross bar. He never said why he threw me out and he never told Randy either."
-Mika on his cleaning the glass for the goal judge in Syracuse (March 17, 2001)

"I don't know how he can do that. He's got sweet hands."
-Mika on Craig Charron's goal against Hamilton (March 28, 2001)

"I was kind of surprised he shot. I was in the right spot and it went through me. I don't know what happened. But it's better now than in the playoffs."
-Mika on Mikael Samuelsson's shot from the red line (April 4, 2001)

"When the award is coming from your teammates it means a lot."
-Mika on being voted Amerks MVP (April 8, 2001)

"If you go into the playoffs and you're not ready, it might be three games and the season is over."
-Mika before round 1 of the Calder Cup playoffs against Philadelphia (April 9, 2001)

"It's funny, you play 80 games to have the home-ice advantage and we have to go on the road already. It's kind of stupid. If you go down 1-0 and then you go on the road, you're in trouble. This was a huge win, a huge goal from Sasha."
-Mika about game 1 (April 12, 2001)

"They had a lot of experienced guys and I think that's how they turned it up."
-Mika after the loss to Philly (April 16, 2001)

"I was prepared for a long spring again. It's hard to believe we lost three games."
-Mika (April 17, 2001)

"I think that's a good thing, it means you're in the right spot. It doesn't really hurt, but the first one hit me right on the forehead (of the mask) and my ears were ringing a little."
-Mika on getting on his mask with the puck (October 13, 2001)

"It got scary because they didn't have any shots and then all of a sudden it was tied."
-Mika on the game against Albany (October 27, 2001)

"Houds was a little tired and I thought he wouldn't make it."
-Mika on going behind the net to play a dump-in by the Griffins because he believed Doug Houda might lose the race for the puck (November 19, 2001)

"I think fortune is a little bit against us. You don't see those bounces very many times but that's twice already this year it's happened (it also happened in the second game of the season in Wilkes-Barre)."
-Mika on an Albany goal (November 25, 2001)

"If I practice well, I may get some games, that's what they said. I feel I'm ready to play one or two games here."
-Mika on being recalled to Buffalo (December 12, 2001)

"I wasn't expecting it. This is a good thing for me. The last five or six games in Rochester the team has been getting better and I have been getting better. If you get some rewards it keeps you going and keeps your mind fresh."
-Mika on his call up to Buffalo (December 13, 2001)

"It gets my mind fresh. I was waiting to see if I would get some games here. I'm as prepared as you can be."
-Mika on maybe playing for the Sabres this weekend (December 13, 2001)

"I was a little bit nervous early in the game. I was thinking, 'What's going on here? What's going to happen?' But the whole team played great. I got things going better and better and actually started to enjoy the game. I had fun."
-Mika on his 1st NHL start of the 2001-2002 season against Carolina (December 15, 2001)

"I was kind of blocked. I really didn't see the shot go in. You always think, "One save. Why not one more?'"
-Mika on the game tying goal against Carolina (December 15, 2001)

"It's my second game this year, and I really want to play up here. I didn't want to come off and say, 'Marty, you've got to go.'"
-Mika on his muscle strain in the 3rd period against the New York Rangers (December 16, 2001)

"I just go game-by-game, one day at a time. I know Marty's going to get better, and he's a great goalie. I just do my best and we'll see what they decide. I think it's better for them to get two good goalies to choose from. That's a good thing for the whole team."
-Mika on his game against the Maple Leafs (December 22, 2001)

"I should make the save when the game's 2-2."
-Mika on the game tying gola against Toronto (December 22, 2001)

"I had 16 shots, and the last two periods I had four shots and I was a little bit scared. We had one goal late, five minutes left, and I didn't really face any shots. But I didn't face any shots in those last five minutes either. So I think the guys were doing a great job today, and our defense blocked a lot of shots and it was a big thing for us."
-Mika on the game against Montreal (December 27, 2001)

"I was a little bit surprised, but (Ruff) has to do what he thinks he has to do to win games. If you play 20 minutes and you allow two goals, that's not enough. It's not a good start, and I should do more."
-Mika on his start again Carolina (January 1, 2002)

"Marty's been great. That's not the reason I'm here. It's just that Marty might need some rest later on, and either me or (veteran backup Bob Essensa) is going to play."
-Mika on his call up to Buffalo (March 14, 2002)

"The team played great. I gave up some rebounds and they helped me out. I was pretty sure I was not going to play, but I felt good. I felt confident and pretty focused."
-Mika on his game against the Flyers (March 15, 2002)

"My five-hole was open, and when that happens you can put a beach ball in if you want. I can laugh about it now."
-Mika on the goal scored by Ottawa's Juha Ylonen (March 25, 2002)

"I don't think it's a hard decision. I think Marty will play. He's been playing great the last few games. There's nothing to worry about Marty not playing well. I've been lucky when I've played. I think Marty will go but if I do I'll enjoy it. I've never been a coach. It's up to them. It's a good thing you can choose."
-Mika on Lindy Ruff's decision of who should start against Washington (March 26, 2002)

"I haven't played a lot the last month, maybe 200 minutes in four games. I had a bad practice (Wednesday), but I had to get up at 5:30 to get here from Pittsburgh (where the Sabres played Wednesday night). In practice up there (with the Sabres), I felt good. I was thinking if Montreal won, they might give me some games up there to see what I could do, but I was always thinking they might send us down for the playoffs here."
-Mika on being sent back to Rochester for game 2 against the Phantoms (April 11, 2002)

"I stopped a few I didn't even see. I got lucky on some stuff. But when you play well, you get some luck, too."
-Mika on the Sabres game vs Edmonton (November 2, 2002)

"There's lots of reasons why we're losing games. To put it on Marty's shoulders and my shoulders, it's a team thing. It's not just about goalies. There's been some mistakes from us, and lots of mistakes from them, too. It's not just us. It's easy to blame the goalie when the team's playing bad, to point to them as the reason. We play a big part. If we don't stop the puck, it's a goal. But we can't score for us, either. I think I earned, for sure, one more shot instead of waiting for over a month to get the next game. I think I earned that. I didn't feel good about when they called Miller up and giving him a game instead of me. I really don't know. I played three pretty good games, one bad game. After that, I've been waiting. Next year, I'll have my waivers, and we'll see. If they keep putting me up and down, hopefully somebody will pick me up. I'm looking for a chance. If, hopefully, they trade me somewhere else, then that's the way I gotta look at it."
-Mika on the goaltender situation in Buffalo this season (December 13, 2002)

Cool things said about Mika:
"The way Mika's played, it's going to be no secret Mika's going to play goal tomorrow night."
-Lindy Ruff on Mika starting against LA (October 7, 2000)

"I really like Mika, he's a great guy, and I just have to be ready."
-Tom Askey (October 27, 2000)

"Nothing's wrong with Mika."
-Coach Cunneyworth (November 8, 2000)
(Nice to hear from Coach Cunneyworth, but if he really felt that way, he would never play Tom Askey again unless Mika asked for a night off)

"I wouldn't blame Mika on either, I would blame our coverage. They weren't odd-man rushes, the coverage was just too lax." -Coach Cunneyworth (February 1, 2001)
(Cuz it is never Mika's fault)

"Mika hadn't played in a week and you have to give him a lot of credit, he was sharp."
-Coach Cunneyworth (February 19, 2001)

"Mika came up with big saves for us at the right time. I think that he might have been the difference."
-Coach Cunneyworth (February 21, 2001)

"He looked like a pro doing it, it's hard to believe it was his first time."
-Craig Charron on Mika cleaning the glass for the goal judge in Syracuse (March 17, 2001)

"He started at the top and worked his way right to the bottom. It was the funniest thing I ever saw."
-Jason Cipolla on Mika cleaning the glass in Syracuse (March 17, 2001)

"He's been special for a long time."
-Coach Cunneyworth (March 30, 2001)

"It's easy to point out that goal, but for every one he lets in like that, he's made 20 great saves. We're certainly not going to blame Mika."
-Coach Cunneyworth on Mikael Samuelsson's goal that Mika let in (April 4, 2001)

"We played tennis a couple times last summer and we have a lot of the same friends."
-Vesa Toskala (April 4, 2001)

"I thought Mika was good, especially in the first period. They caught him kind of quick with the first goal, but overall I think he was good."
-Lindy Ruff (September 27, 2001)

He's been playing well lately and he deserved the opportunity. We wanted to take a look at him in practice. Who knows where it leads. All options are open."
-Larry Carriere (assistant to Sabres GM Darcy Regier) on Mika after he was recalled from Rochester (December 12, 2001)

"We got in alone on him three or four times, and that's something you rarely see us get to do against Buffalo. (Noronen) held his ground nice, didn't blink first, really controlled the bottom of his net and had Gelinas' number."
-Hurricanes coach Paul Maurice (December 15, 2001)

There's a lot to like about the performance Mika put in. He battled. I thought everybody battled. We made some mistakes and bad decisions, but you can't take away how hard we battled. Part of it was he battled, too. He fought to see pucks, fought on all the rebounds. That spurred us on at times. He made a couple real good saves in the second period for us. I think we built off those saves. The game could have gone the other way, but he covered up a couple of our mistakes."
-Sabres coach Lindy Ruff (December 22, 2001)

"I bet him a steak dinner that he'd get called up. He deserves to be up there."
-Tom Askey on Mika being called up to Buffalo (March 14, 2002)

"Being naive is a thing of beauty. Maybe he didn't have time to understand the intensity of playing in this building at this time of year. There were times when he dominated. This was real big. It was a huge outing. We know we have a real busy schedule down the stretch. Everybody's gotta contribute. Every night we need guys stepping up, like Mika did tonight."
-James Patrick about Mika's game against the Flyers (March 15, 2002)

He's very comfortable at this level. You could notice from the way he played the puck to the way he carried himself around the crease, he was confident he could get the job done."
-Lindy Ruff on Mika's game against the Flyers (March 15, 2002)

"When you get in these situations you need your goaltender to win you a game or at least get you a point. He had a big influence tonight."
-Lindy Ruff on Mika's play vs Edmonton (November 2, 2002)

For more Mika quotes, you can read his AHL chat transcript from February 2000